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Biosecurity News in Brief
China Recalls Melamine-Tainted EggsBy Nidhi Bouri, November 3, 2008 On October 28, 2008, the Associated Press (AP) reported that Wal-Mart has pulled Select brand eggs from stores across China after chemical tests indicated that the eggs were tainted with melamine. China's Dalian Hanwei Enterprise Group, the company that produces the eggs, recalled the product when testers in Hong Kong determined that the eggs contained nearly twice the territory’s legal limit for melamine in food. This discovery has also led to the prompt expansion of testing of China’s meat imports.1 Melamine is traditionally used in making plastics and fertilizer, and it is banned from use in animal feed. Because melamine boosts nitrogen levels, making food products seem higher in protein content when tested, many food experts believe that the chemical was used in dairy and egg products to make them appear to be higher-grade products. While the addition of melamine to food is risky, some companies may be willing to take the risk since higher-grade products generate more revenue. The effects melamine on humans are still unclear, but health professionals have raised concerns over food safety, particularly following China’s recent milk scandal, in which 4 babies died and 54,000 children were sickened from consuming melamine-tainted milk products. There are currently no definitive reports explaining how the eggs became contaminated with melamine, but according to the head of the animal husbandry department at the Chinese Agriculture Ministry, the melamine was most likely added to chicken feed.1 References
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